Spring latch for cultivators



Jan. 3, 1939. v. NEEDHA M SPRING LATCH FOR CULTIVATORS Filed Oct. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 3, 1939. v. NEEDHAM I 2,142,454

v SPRING' LATCH FQR- CULTIVATORS File'd Oct. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet? Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES SPRING LATCH FOR CULTIVATORS Virgil Needham, Osceola, Ark., assignor of onehalf to Frank C. Kirkpatrick, Osceola, Ark.

Application October 5, 1937, Serial No. 167,432

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a spring latch for cultivators and more particularly relates to a latch carried by the cross-head with which the shanks of the front foot and rear foot of a cultivator are engaged.

At the present time the shank for the bladecarrying foot of a cultivator may extend through a socket formed in a cross-head carried by the draft beam of the cultivator, and in order that the shank may be firmly but releasably held in a set position, a wedge which resembles a bolt and extends through the cross-head is employed. This has been found unsatisfactory and inconvenient as a wrench must be used in order to loosen or tighten the wedging bolt and in addition the bolt is liable to work loose by its nut becoming partially or entirely unscrewed from the bolt or the nut is liable to become rusted upon the bolt and thus make it very diiiicult and in some cases impossible to remove the nut.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide a cross-head having latching means associated therewith which is spring actuated and yieldably held in position to engage the shank of a blade-carrying foot and firmly hold the shank stationary while at the same time permitting the shank to be easily released when adjustment or replacement thereof is necessary.

Another object of the invention is to so form and so mount the latch that it may have interlocking engagement with the shank of the bladecarrying foot when the shank is disposed in a selected one of a pair of shank-receiving sockets formed through the cross-head. It will thus be seen that the same latch may be employed for securing the shank without regard to which of the sockets the shank is passed through.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for moving the latch to a shankreleasing position, this means consisting of a lever which is pivoted to a fulcrum and disposed in such a position that it may be very easily grasped by its free end portion and rocked in a direction to move the latch to a releasing position.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the latch and springs which urge it towards a latching position that the latch and the springs will be shielded from exposure and prevented from being damaged by water or operation of the latch interfered with by dirt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latch and a mounting and operating means therefor adapted to be easily applied to a crosshead of a conventional construction, thus making it unnecessary to provide a cross-head of a special construction and allowing the latching device to be applied to the cross-heads of cultivators already in use.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figures 1 is a View in side elevation of-a crosshead equipped with the improved latching means,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the crosshead,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken through the cross-head and latching means along the line 33 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-'l of Figure 3.

The cross-head which is indicated in general by the numeral 1 is formed with the usual center socket 2 midway its length through which fits a supporting beam 3 of a cultivator, and upon referring to Figure 1, it will be seen that this cross-head fits snugly about the beam'3 where it is secured by a fastener 4 which passes through the upper and lower fastener receiving lugs 5 of the cross-head. It will thus be seen that the cross-head will be firmly held in place upon the beam 3 with its end portion 6 projecting from opposite sides of the beam. The projecting end portions of the cross-head are each formed with a pair of passages or sockets l to receive the shanks of the blade-carrying feet,

and upon referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the sockets formed through one end portion of the cross-head, extend vertically in side by side relation to each other while the sockets l of the other end portion of the cross-head extend horizontally through the same, This is a conventional construction provided in order that the horizontally extending portion 8 of the shank 8 of the rear foot 9 may be passed through a horizontally extending socket at one end of the crosshead and the vertically extending shank Illof the front foot H extends through a vertically extending socket of the other end portion of the cross-head. Grooves or recesses 8 and ii are formed along marginal edges from the shanks 8 and It in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof for registering with slots Ii formed in walls of the sockets I, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and it will be understood that by sliding the shanks through the sockets or passages to successively move the recesess into position to register with the slots ll adjustment of the shanks and the blade carriers may be effected.

Attention is called to the fact that each of the slots extends entirely across an end portion of the cross-head and communicates with both of the sockets or passages I formed therein.

In order to firmly but releasably hold the shank in adjusted position, there has been provided securing means carried by each of the end portions of the cross-head. The securing means are of a duplicate construction except that the securing means carried by one end portion of the crosshead is mounted against the rear side face thereof, whereas the securing means carried by the other end portion of the cross-head is mounted upon the upper face of the cross-head. This is clearly illustrated in Figure 2, wherein the securing means which are indicated in general by the numeral [2 are shown mounted upon the rear side face and the upper face of the crosshead in cooperating relation to the slots l 1. Each of the securing means is provided with a casing I3 formed of metal and firmly secured against the cooperating end portion of the cross-head by welding or in any other desired manner. Slots H are formed in opposed end walls of the casing to register with the slot H of the cross-head to which the casing is secured, and these registering slots slidably receive a latching plate [5 which is yieldably held in position to enter the sockets or passages I by springs I5. These springs 5 which are helical springs, fit about pins l1 extending from the latching plate, and upon referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that the springs project into sleeves l8 where they have abutting engagement with pins I9 extending diametrically through the sleeves. The springs yieldably resist movement of the latching plate out of the sockets I and thus yieldably maintain it in position to enter a groove or recess of the shank passing through one of the sockets and the shank will be firmly but releasably held in an adjusted position.

In order to shift a latching plate outwardly to an inoperative position, each of the plates has been provided with a stem 20 which projects outwardly from the casing between the sleeves l8 and is pivoted to the inner end of a rocker arm or lever 2| which in its turn is pivoted to a fulcrum bar 22. The fulcrum bar extends along a side wall of the casing and is welded or otherwise firmly secured against the end portion of the cross-head between the sockets I. By applying pressure to the free end portion of the lever it will be rocked about the pivot pin 23 connecting it with the fulcrum bar and pull exerted upon the stem 20 to draw the latching plate out of the sockets l and thus release the shank passing through one of these sockets so that the shank may be longitudinally adjusted. The lever is then released and the springs will shift the latching plate inwardly until it again engages in a groove or recess of the shank and secures the shank in this set position. It will thus be seen that, while the shank will be firmly held in an adjusted position, it can be easily and quickly released without the use of a wrench.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A cross-head adapted to be mounted upon a supporting beam transversely thereof and having a portion extending laterally from the beam and formed with shank-receiving sockets spaced transversely from each other, a side of the crosshead being formed with a slot extending transversely of the sockets intermediate ends thereof and communicating with the sockets, a casing secured against the cross-head in confronting relation to the slotted side of the same and having slots in opposed side walls registering with the slots of the cross-head, a latching plate in said casing having its ends engaged in the slots of the cross-head and the opposed wall of the casing, resilient means in said casing yieldably holding said latching plate in position to enter the sockets and engage a shank passing through either socket to secure the shank in an adjusted position, and actuating means for shifting the latching plate to an inoperative position disposed externally of the casing and connected with the latching plate.

2. A cross-head adapted to be mounted upon a supporting beam transversely thereof with an end portion extending from one side of the supporting beam and formed with a shank-receiving socket and a slot intermediate the length of the socket, a casing secured to the cross-head in confronting relation to the slotted portion thereof, a latching plate slidable in said casing into and out of position to extend through the slot and into the socket, resilient means in said casing for yieldably holding the latching plate in an operative position, a stem for said plate slidably passing through an opening formed in the casing and projecting outwardly therefrom, a fulcrum disposed externally of the casing and the cross-head, and an actuating lever pivoted to the fulcrum and connected with the outer end portion of the stem to shift the latching plate to an inoperative position when the lever is moved in one direction.

3. A cross-head adapted to be mounted upon a support, the cross-head being formed with a shank-receiving socket and with a slot extending transversely of the socket and communicating therewith intermediate ends of the socket, a casing carried by the cross-head in confronting relation to the slotted portion of the cross-head, sleeves carried by said casing and extending outwardly therefrom in spaced relation to each other, a latching plate slidably mounted in the casing and having pins extending into said sleeves, abutments carried by the sleeves, springs about said pins having their inner ends abutting the latching plate and their outer portions extending Within the sleeves and abutting the abutments of the sleeves, said springs serving to yieldably hold the latching plate in position to enter the sockets through the slot and engage a shank to releasably hold the shank in an adjusted position, a stem extending from said plate between the pins and slidably passing out of the casing between the sleeves, a fulcrum mounted externally of the casing, and an actuating lever pivoted to said fulcrum and having one end pivoted to the outer end of the stem of the latching plate for moving the latching plate to an inoperative position when the lever is swung about its pivot in one direction.

VIRGIL NEEDHAM. 

